


Daughter

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 08:16:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7794220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex treats her mother for mother's day. Takes place during Starshine Legacy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Daughter

“Herman, can I have a raise?” asked Alex. She’d been afraid of asking at first, terrified that her employer would fire her on the spot for daring to be so bold. But he’d accepted. Maybe he’d known about where she lived, or maybe he was rewarding her for a job well done.

“Hmm,” said Herman now, and glanced at the calendar. “Ah, of course. You don’t even need to ask, Alex, I should know the date and pay you accordingly.”

“Thank you,” said Alex, rubbing the back of her neck. She was glad that he didn’t make her work overtime for her extra pay like the scrapyard did. Not that she’d mind having to spend more time around these beautiful horses.

“Here,” said Herman, handing her a very large pouch of shillings. “Buy your mother something nice. Treat her.”

“Are you sure?” asked Alex, hefting the weight of the bag in her hand. “There’s gotta be at least five thousand in here! This is too much, Herman.”

“No, you deserve it,” said Herman, holding his hand up to stop her from handing it back. “And so does your mother.”

Alex considered the bag again. This would pay not just for the roses but also a pampering session and dinner in a fancy restaurant. And then it would cover the bills for months.

“Are you sure?” asked Alex again. Herman chuckled.

“Yes, I’m sure,” said Herman. 

“Thank you,” said Alex around the lump in her throat, and hugged him. “Is it also okay if I…?”

“Of course. Take the day off, Alex. Treat your mother. You’ve earned it.”

“Thanks again,” said Alex, stepping away from him. She stuffed the pouch of shillings deep into her backpack, then took off for the place that she called home.

“Alex? You’re home early,” said her mother, greeting her at the door.

“Yeah, Mr Herman gave me the day off to spend with you,” said Alex. “Mother’s day is only once a year, after all.”

“Oh yes, it is that day, isn’t it?” said her mother. She sighed. “At least you remembered.”

“Mr Herman remembered too,” said Alex. Once she was safely inside with the door deadbolted behind her, Alex took the shillings pouch out of her backpack. “He gave me this.”

“Oh my,” said her mother, sifting through the pouch. “This is a lot of money.”

“Yeah,” said Alex, carefully taking it back from her. “And I’m going to spend it all on you. I’m going to pamper you and take you out for dinner. What are you in the mood for?”

“At the moment, I only feel like Chinese food,” said her mother, absently tugging on a strand of her greasy, ratty hair. “Or a kebab.”

“Pampering definitely needs to happen first,” said Alex. With that, she grabbed her mother by the wrist and walked the few blocks to one of the fanciest beauty parlours that she knew of. She’d walked past it every day, even gone in once when Anne had decided to treat her friends to a makeover. She knew that the staff saw only money.

“Excuse me, but you may be in the wrong place,” said the receptionist as they walked in. Alex grabbed a handful of the coins and deposited them on the counter. The receptionist’s frown turned to a smile, and Alex swore that she could see dollar sign’s in the woman’s eyes. “Right this way.”

Alex sat on a chair, watching with a smile as her mother’s hair was washed, cut, and styled. The hairdresser even dyed it blonde again, getting rid of the grey streaks that had begun creeping in. Then her face was cleansed and made-up, and she was given a full manicure and pedicure. She’d already been given a massage, which had done wonders for the stress that Alex knew she carried.

“You look beautiful, mama,” said Alex when the staff finally revealed her mother again.

“I feel beautiful, too,” said her mother, smiling. “But now it’s your turn.”

“Wait, what?” asked Alex, only just catching that. The staff seemed to have a sadistic gleam in their eyes as they took her in for her own beautification.

Two hours after entering, Alex and her mother finally left the salon. The place was so fancy that they even had a contract with the clothing store next door, so the two women had also been given new outfits. Alex’s mother looked beautiful in a simple long-sleeved pink dress with a v-neckline. It clung to her, but not in a bad way. Alex herself had grudgingly agreed to wearing a dark grey skirt, though it was a long pencil one. As it was, she felt like her red singlet top was too revealing. She also wasn’t allowed to wear her hat, though her hair was still down. The outfits had cost another thousand shillings each, but the look on her mother’s face was worth it.

“Okay, mama, we can go to any restaurant you like,” said Alex. “Which one do you choose?”

“Somewhere that does a good steak dinner,” said her mother. “I haven’t had a decent steak in ages.”

Alex finally found a good restaurant, with the help of some fancily dressed people. One of them called her mother her sister, which was the highlight of her day.

“Do I really look that young?” asked her mother, beaming at Alex once the passerby had continued on their way.

“Yes,” said Alex. She smiled back at her mother and hugged her.

At the restaurant, they were given a good table. Alex recognised a few of the items, thanks to Anne rubbing off on all of them, and she helped her mother with the pronunciation.

“So which one is steak?” asked her mother, and they both laughed. Her mother probably would’ve been happy with just a steak and chips at a pub, but Alex wanted to treat her. 

“This one,” said Alex, pointing it out to her.

They didn’t talk much when their meals arrived, both too busy eating the delicious food. Alex didn’t even want to think about her other siblings, all of them having forgotten about her poor mother.

“Thank you so much for all of this, Alex,” said her mother once they’d finished their desserts. “You’ve made me feel really special.”

“Well, you are really special, mama,” said Alex. She’d noticed a few other mothers around the restaurant with their children, and the sight had warmed her heart. Her mother smiled at her, and kept smiling all the way back home.

At home, her mother hung their nice new outfits up in the wardrobe in her bedroom, and then padlocked the doors shut again. That wardrobe held all of their precious outfits, from her wedding dress to Alex’s dress that she’d worn for graduating primary school. There were also a few suits in there, and the three dresses that her mother had for special occasions. Sometimes, Alex knew, her mother would open the wardrobe and look at the outfits to relive the memories of those precious events.

When the rest of the family returned home from wherever it was they’d been all day, not one of them mentioned what day it was. Alex could tell that her mother was hurt by it, but to her credit, she didn’t cry. It was like this every mother’s day, after all. And this time, the pain was lessened somewhat by the wonderful day that they’d shared.


End file.
